When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, steps onto her platform in New York, she's not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly attacking the government,” she explained. And when she does, she makes certain it isn't recorded for social media. “I would never publish openly material where I directly criticize authorities … I think this is a habit from China.”
The comedian, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly ten years, departing in 2022. By 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she embarked on an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and exploring the city's library system.
However in the year after Donald Trump returned to office again, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “In China, I knew the boundaries, while here I'm standing on unstable ground.”
Her fears mirror a new climate in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in the country, perceive as disturbingly familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists face scrutiny. Institutions come under fire.
The president has not been shy about his admiration for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a brief ceasefire in the trade war on Thursday, the camaraderie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the rising power become more open, under Trump 2.0, it appears that the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, instead of vice versa.
“The United States is experiencing a period of cultural revolution,” stated Zhang Qianfan, a professor at Peking University. “The top leader, Donald Trump, is attempting to mobilise the masses in order to sideline or weaken established figures … reminiscent of what happened in China decades past.”
Since Trump initiated the so-called a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on of his term, many in China have viewed American governance through the lens of China's historical period. Be it the mobilisation of young people to carry out the leader’s will, or purging institutions of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has brought disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, though without equivalent degrees of violence.
But after the turmoil of the initial period of the new administration subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which variously seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Beacon Is Less Bright’
The most profound similarity between Trump’s America and China is the suppression on free speech.
Deng Haiyan, now a Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in the eye of a storm recently, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, after escaping China due to pressure from officials.
In September, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was “despicable”. Similar to others across the US – who were fired for expressing criticism regarding him – he encountered a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of espionage attempting to create division.
“That event surprised me deeply. I never imagined that something like this would occur in the United States – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
His backlash came from online peers, instead of the government, but that kind of public monitoring also has parallels with China.
“In terms of going after those who disagree and starting to surveil public speech about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” said an academic, an associate professor at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East now as too,” she added, stating that concerns are rising in America of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring promoted by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals like himself once turned to the US for ideals, in part because openly discussing domestic politics in China is dangerous. However, “The US isn't a god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has declined generally.”
“We used to see America as the symbol of constitutional democracy, but since the new administration, this lighthouse appears dimmer”.
Progressive Chinese, typically, behind closed doors, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, he stated. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in improving the environment and promoting EVs and tech investment,” he noted, while “the West, exemplified by the United States, seems to be declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in American firms has prompted parallels with the East, where the line between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it will take a shareholder in a new company focused on rare earth processing, following similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. These moves have left some investors concerned that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between Trump’s America and China. In October, several news organisations including the Guardian refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. US courts have blocked or overturned numerous Trump’s actions, something that is impossible in China’s party-dominated judiciary.
Isaac Stone Fish, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America could descend into its gravest challenge of its history, far more severe than currently, and it would remain more free, open, and more liberal than China under Xi.”
Zhang observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see US universities yield to government demands concerning DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, leading institutions are all state-owned by default. University leaders, which are selected by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, people in the US are starting to take precautions previously confined to repressive regimes. An academic at a US university once vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this article. He said: “The truth is, I fear of suppression in the US: I actually feel more comfortable to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
